Revival of the Burned

Chapter 4: Caged

"B-Booster?" Nathan stuttered, the emotion catching in his throat. After six months, finally Booster was here again. His friend, his teammate, and his partner. Entei, Booster, stood regally with the rays of afternoon sun blanketing him in a halo.

"So, this is Entei," Dr. Kaiji admired as he adjusted his glasses to get a better look. "Remarkable."

In one fell swoop, Entei leaped from the hilltop to the road's clearing where Nathan stood in awe. Memories flooded him as he thought of the time he had spent with Flareon. He remembered the day he had received an Eevee from his parents, which was the same day Zach and Anna each received an Eevee as well. He remembered the day he had bought a Fire Stone from the Mart and evolved his Eevee into Flareon. He remembered the last day he saw his Flareon, in the Brass Tower. He stared into Entei's eyes and saw the loving dedication that had been in Flareon's eyes in his final moments alive. No doubt about it, now. This was Booster.

Nathan slowly reached his hand out to pet Entei. But a jerking motion pulled him back hard and he collided with the ground with a thud.

"Nathan!" Zach and Anna called out in concern.

A robotic arm that extended from the jeep tightly clutched the back of Nathan's shirt collar. At the same time, two electrical rings shot from the jeep's front that hovered around Entei. The rings shocked Entei like an electric taser, immobilizing the Pokémon. Dr. Kaiji pushed a button on a handheld device to manipulate the rings into a tighter cage around Entei, who howled in pain.

"I knew we couldn't trust you!" Zach yelled.

"What are you doing to Booster!" Nathan angrily shouted as he frantically struggled against the arm that held him.

"Do you see, Cristina?" Kaiji said gleefully, ignoring the teens. "I told you that these kids would be useful to us. This one here distracted Entei long enough for us to finally capture it. We've chased it for quite some time and with his help we have finally got it to stand still."

"Let him go!" Anna demanded.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the doctor taunted. "My boss has hired me for this job and once I've caught Suicune and Raikou he will reward me greatly."

"What does your boss want with Entei?!" Zach growled.

"Are you truly that foolish, boy?" Doctor Kaiji laughed. "Power! Immortality! An unstoppable army of Pokémon supercharged with legendary might. Must I spell it out for you? This Pokémon was brought back from the dead into a newer, more powerful being. If we can study it and recreate that capability, the world is ours for the taking!"

"You're crazy," Nathan muttered.

"Crazy, you say," Kaiji chuckled. "Boy, you don't even know the half of it!" His grin grew to stretch across his face. "I'm what you might call a mad doctor! A little cliché, I know. But that's just the way it is! Cristina! Make a call to Hunter. Tell him we have Entei in our possession and that we have another gift as well." He smiled crookedly at the teen trapped by the robotic arm.

Cristina opened her Pokégear and dialed a number. A hologram projected out of her device, a feature not found on standard issued Pokégear so these "researchers," if they could still be called that, had access to tech modifications. The man in the hologram answered with a calm and bone chilling tone.

"Yes? Do you have the Entei?"

"Yes, sir," Cristina answered. "In transit now. We also have something else, some trainers who claim to be the original owners of the revived Pokémon."

"Oh, my. That is interesting."

The electric cage which held Booster magnetically propelled itself to the back of the jeep. Booster howled again as a charge pulsed through the cage. Nathan stared helplessly as his first Pokémon cried in pain. No. He refused to see Booster in pain again. Not now. Not ever again.

"Go, Dreamer and Chomper!" He called for his other Pokémon. "Chomper, use Bite to break this metal arm. Dreamer, use Thundershock to short circuit that electric cage."

Croconaw jumped forward and chomped into the contraption that held its trainer. It cracked in the wrist piece and Nathan jerked himself free. Next, Flaafy blasted its attack at the cage. Sparks flew, but the cage still held up.

"Damn, you brats," Kaiji swore. "I won't let you stop me from my goals. Go, Aerodactyl! Use Stone Edge on that Flaafy!"

The Flying-type fossil Pokémon roared as it launched jagged rocks from the ground that collided into Flaafy.

"We'll help too," Anna nodded at Zach. "Go, Violet!" She called out as a Bayleef appeared next to its trainer.

"Go, Cook!" Zach called out a Quilava. "You take the Aerodactyl, I'll help free Entei. Cook, use Ember on that cage!"

Quilava joined Flaafy as they combined their efforts to free Entei. The fire and electric energies flared around the machine. Several cracks opened, but it refused to release their friend. Entei roared in pain as it watched from inside the contraption.

"Violet, use Razor Leaf!" The Bayleef reared its head and tossed several sharp bladed leaves at the Aerodactyl.

"Aerodactyl, use Wing Attack on that Bayleef!"

The fossil Pokémon propelled forward like a jet and struck Violet with its rock-hard wing.

"Doctor!" Cristina called out. "I'll send my Pokémon to help, too."

"Wait, Cristina," the hologram projected Hunter interrupted. "I'm intrigued by these young trainers. Let's see how they handle the situation."

"Very well," Cristina reluctantly agreed as the pocketed her Pokéball.

"Aerodactyl, forget about the Bayleef and use Hyper Beam on those two trying to break the cage!" Kaiji ordered, clearly frustrated by his boss's apparent lack of confidence in him.

Aerodactyl reared its head as it prepared a powerful attack.

No, I can't let that Hyper Beam hit them, Nathan's mind raced.

Without hesitation, the teen lifted the fallen mechanical hand with all of his might and charged it into the gut of the menacing Aerodactyl. The Pokémon's blazing attack trajectory turned just slightly so that the beam hit the researcher's jeep, igniting it in a bright blaze.

"Damn you!" Doctor Kaiji swore.

The blast wave of the explosion tossed the caged Entei into a tree. The metal rings sparked as its electrical cage finally burst open. Entei jumped free and glared at the villains who had captured him. He howled a vicious Roar that sent shockwaves of terror and adrenaline through everyone present. Nathan and his friends reeled back from the power and pain found in that crying howl. When they looked back, Entei was gone without a trace.

"Very interesting, indeed," Hunter quietly commented before disconnecting the call and dissipating his hologram.

"Damn it! We were so close!" Dr. Kaiji shouted. He glared at Nathan. "You. You cost me everything I've spent the last six months working on!"

"Entei isn't yours to claim!" Nathan replied.

"Cristina!" Dr. Kaiji called out. "It's time to get out of here!"

"Yes, sir." Cristina sent out her own Aerodactyl and mounted on its back. Likewise, Kaiji climbed onto his Aerodactyl's back.

The researchers flew off on their Flying Pokémon to chase after Entei again.

"We have to hurry, before they find Booster," Nathan said.

"Yeah," Zach agreed. "The good news is that we destroyed their jeep and the device they had planned to capture Entei with. So, they're down an option. We just have to get to Entei before they find another method of capture."

"We can still use your Pokégear to find him, right?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, I see the indicator now," Nathan confirmed as he watched the blinking red dot on his screen. "Booster, I was so close. I'm sorry." He balled his fist in determination. "Let's go, there's no time to waste on getting sentimental."

After Croconaw quickly dowsed the flames of the burning jeep with its Water Gun, the three trainers returned their Pokémon to their Pokéballs. They ran through the woods as fast as they could as the Pokégear's map directed their path. The roar of an Aerodactyl rang in the air. Nathan couldn't tell if that had meant the researchers had already found Booster or not. Either way, time was running out. A powerful blast of energy shot by them, which narrowly missed them but blew several of the trees out of the ground and devastated the immediate area.

"What the hell was that?" Anna asked as she huffed for air.

"It looked like another Hyper Beam attack," Zach answered. "Look, there's Cristina and her Aerodactyl!"

Zach pointed upward to where the female researcher flew on her Pokémon.

"The doctor has instructed me to deal with the three of you while he takes care of that Entei," Cristina called down to them. "Listen, we don't have to do this the hard way. If you let us take the Entei, we won't harm you or your Pokémon."

"Entei is my Pokémon!" Nathan yelled, furiously.

"Very well. You leave me with no other choice," Cristina frowned. "Aerodactyl, another Hyper Beam!"

Aerodactyl breathed a powerful force of energy that blasted at the ground underneath the teens' feet. Its massive blast launched the three friends into different directions as the area they once stood laid in ruins. Trees, stones, and debris flew about from the blast wave. Nathan clutched his Pokéball as he prepared himself for a fight. A fight to protect Booster.